Killed with a Single Palm Strike

"Little girl, there's no need to risk your life."

Chen Yao was about to pour all her life force into the Heavenly Azure Sword and perish together with Elder Huanxi when Lu Changsheng's voice sounded in her ear.

Chen Yao froze for a moment, then her heart leaped with joy!

Lu Changsheng was Lin Qingzhi's master and a Mount Shu elder at the Dao Palace Realm. Now that he had come, what could Elder Huanxi of the Hehuan Sect possibly amount to?

The Heavenly Azure Sword's brilliant light gradually faded, and Chen Yao ended her state of unity with the sword and landed beside Lin Qingzhi.

The two needed only a glance to know that Lin Qingzhi had also received Lu Changsheng's voice transmission.

"So you've realized how vast the gap in our strength is and given up resisting? Hahaha, be a good girl and dual cultivate with this old Daoist. Wouldn't it be wonderful for us to become immortals together?"

Seeing that Chen Yao was no longer risking her life, Elder Huanxi assumed she had accepted her fate.

"Master's cultivation is unmatched under heaven. Even Mount Shu disciples dare not oppose you. Master, you are truly a model for us all!"

"Congratulations, Master, on obtaining a top-grade vessel!"

"That Mount Shu disciple really is a beauty. I wonder if we disciples will have a chance to enjoy her later? Hahahaha!"

The Hehuan Sect disciples grinned wickedly and fawned over Elder Huanxi.

"Death is at your doorstep, yet you can still laugh."

Chen Yao's tone was icy.

"With your paltry cultivation, how could you Mount Shu disciples bring death to my—"

Elder Huanxi's words cut off abruptly. A figure with the bearing of an immortal and the bones of a Daoist had appeared beside Lin Qingzhi at some unknown point.

An extremely dangerous feeling rose in his heart!

The wicked grins on the Hehuan Sect disciples' faces also froze.

"Master."

Lin Qingzhi performed the disciple's salute with utmost respect.

"Elder Lu!"

Chen Yao was also somewhat excited.

Just when mountains and rivers seemed to bar every path, willows and flowers revealed another village!

"That's Elder Lu of Azure Cloud Peak!"

"Elder Lu entered the Dao Palace Realm three years ago. Now that he's here, Old Devil Huanxi of the Hehuan Sect is nothing at all. We're saved!"

"We disciples pay our respects to Elder Lu."

Having found life where all hope had seemed lost, the other Mount Shu disciples were overjoyed. Even the disciple leading them, who was at the ninth layer of the Golden Core Realm, regarded Lu Changsheng with awe.

"You're Lu Changsheng, the one who recently entered the Dao Palace Realm?!"

As an elder of the Hehuan Sect, Elder Huanxi was well informed. He knew that a Mount Shu elder named Lu Changsheng had entered the Dao Palace Realm three years ago.

Elder Huanxi broke out in a cold sweat.

At the second layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, he was no match for Lu Changsheng, who was at the Dao Palace Realm.

How had he beaten the young ones only for an old one to appear immediately?

Run!

Elder Huanxi sent the Soul-Devouring Ring smashing toward Lu Changsheng, then turned and fled without looking back, abandoning both his Law Treasure and his disciples.

When someone at the Nascent Soul Realm encountered someone at the Dao Palace Realm, fleeing at once offered a sliver of hope for survival!

"Die."

Lu Changsheng casually struck out with his palm.

The palm strike swept across the land, blotting out the sky and the sun.

Boom!

Lu Changsheng's palm came down, shaking the earth and mountains, sending sand and stones flying and snapping trees.

Elder Huanxi, an elder of the Hehuan Sect, was wiped out by a single palm strike, becoming one with the earth.

The Hehuan Sect disciples who had just been singing Elder Huanxi's praises turned deathly pale. Had their master really been killed so easily?

"I'll leave these Hehuan Sect disciples to you. Don't let a single one escape."

Lu Changsheng swept a cold glance over the Hehuan Sect disciples, and every one of them felt their hair stand on end.

Lu Changsheng did not make a move lightly, but when he did, he cut the grass and pulled up the roots, leaving no trouble behind.

When Lu Changsheng appeared, he had already exchanged voice transmissions with Lin Qingzhi and learned that they had been ambushed only because they had killed Elder Huanxi's disciple. There was therefore no need to capture any Hehuan Sect disciples alive and interrogate them for information.

Elder Huanxi was a low-ranking elder of the Hehuan Sect, and his disciples' cultivation was not high either. After Elder Huanxi was wiped out by Lu Changsheng's palm strike, the remaining Hehuan Sect disciples were all killed by the Mount Shu disciples.

Some Hehuan Sect disciples tried to escape using the Earth-Escaping Technique, but Lu Changsheng compacted the soil with a palm strike, trapping them underground until they died. At least they were laid to rest in the earth.

"Thank you, Elder Lu, for stepping in to save us. Had you not arrived in time, we would have died at Old Devil Huanxi's hands."

The Mount Shu disciple leading the group bowed to Lu Changsheng in thanks.

"There's no need for formalities."

Lu Changsheng remained calm and unruffled.

Killing a Nascent Soul Realm elder of the Hehuan Sect was truly nothing worth mentioning.

"Your master really can predict events like a god. He actually foresaw that we would face a calamity like this. Could it be that your master's ability to divine the secrets of heaven surpasses even that of the Master of Crouching Dragon Temple?"

Chen Yao spoke quietly to Lin Qingzhi.

The Master of Crouching Dragon Temple, one of the Six Great Orthodox Sects, was skilled in the Time Principle and renowned for divining the secrets of heaven. But as Chen Yao now saw it, Lu Changsheng was the true person who kept his mountains and waters hidden.

"Actually, my master is an immortal."

Lin Qingzhi was certain of it.

"How could that be..."

Chen Yao had not believed it either, but on further reflection, it did not seem impossible.

"Junior Brother, I admit it. I lost our wager. You can ask me to do one thing, so long as it harms neither heaven nor reason."

"How could I ask you to do anything, Senior Sister? Let's just pretend it never happened."

"No. A wager is a wager, and the loser must honor it!"

"Well... but there really isn't anything I need to trouble you with, Senior Sister..."

"Qingzhi, keep this favor for now. It may prove useful in the future."

At Lu Changsheng's realm, it was impossible for him not to hear their conversation. His disciple still did not understand the importance of a favor owed.

If the other party were a disciple of the Demon Sects, a so-called promise or favor might be treated like a fart. But orthodox disciples, especially the disciples of important figures, generally kept their promises.

"Then you can owe me for now, Senior Sister."

Lin Qingzhi scratched his head. He really could not think of anything he needed Chen Yao to do, so he followed Lu Changsheng's advice and let her owe him for now.

"Mm."

Chen Yao nodded solemnly.

With Lu Changsheng guarding them the whole way, the rest of their journey back to Mount Shu went smoothly.

By the time Lin Qingzhi's Mount Shu squad returned to Mount Shu, quite a few disciples who had left the mountain to gain experience had already returned.

"Over the past year, Junior Brother Xiao killed five Golden Core Realm Evil Cultivators, eight Qi Condensation Realm Evil Cultivators, and countless mountain bandits and mounted bandits. The strongest of the Golden Core Realm Evil Cultivators he killed was at the fifth layer. He is truly a model for us all."

The Mount Shu disciple responsible for tallying the results of the first training mission counted up Xiao Xiangdao's Squad's accomplishments and exclaimed in amazement.

Even some Mount Shu disciples who had cultivated at Mount Shu for decades might not be able to kill an Evil Cultivator at the fifth layer of the Golden Core Realm.

"I'm flattered."

Xiao Xiangdao was quite satisfied with his results. He should be the best among this cohort of disciples.

"It's you?"

Xiao Xiangdao glimpsed Lin Qingzhi and Chen Yao's squad returning as well.

Chen Yao had placed second in the Mount Shu Disciple Tournament, while Lin Qingzhi had reached the top eight. Both were among the finest disciples of the new generation.

"Over the past year, Junior Brother Lin killed six Golden Core Realm Evil Cultivators and eleven Qi Condensation Realm Evil Cultivators? The strongest Golden Core Realm Evil Cultivator he killed was Sima Kuang, the leader of the Ji Kingdom's roving bandits, at the eighth layer of the Golden Core Realm... Hiss..."

The Mount Shu disciple compiling the results was deeply shocked when he saw Lin Qingzhi's training record.